Remote motion control using a wireless mobile device

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, a general-purpose wireless mobile device having a touch-sensitive screen and executing a remote control application is used to remotely control a vehicle (e.g., a marine vessel). The general-purpose wireless mobile device communicates via a wireless network with an interface (e.g., a server) that is coupled to an electronic control system of the vehicle (e.g., the vessel). In operation, environmental information and/or system status information is collected through the electronic control system, propagated to the interface (e.g., server), and then sent over the wireless network to the wireless mobile device. Similarly, control input is sent over the wireless network to the interface (e.g., server), which passes the information to the electronic control system, which in turn issues appropriate control signals to the vehicle subsystems (e.g., marine subsystems) to control the motion of the vehicle (e.g., the vessel).

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/790,512 filed on Mar. 15, 2013, entitled “RemoteMotion Control Using a General-Purpose Wireless Mobile Device”, thecontents of which are incorporated by reference herein in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to vehicle motion control andmore specifically to techniques for remote motion control of a vehicle(e.g., a marine vessel) using a general-purpose wireless mobile devicehaving a touch-sensitive screen.

2. Background Information

A variety of types of vehicles have some sort of main control interfacethrough which an operator can monitor and control the vehicle.Typically, the main control interface is coupled via a wired connectionto lower level systems. For example, in modern marine vessels (e.g.,yachts), a main helm station is generally provided through which anoperator (e.g., the captain) may monitor and control the vessel. Themain helm station typically is coupled via a wired connection to anelectronic control system of the vessel, which is in turn coupled tovarious sensors and marine subsystems onboard the vessel. Environmentalinformation and system status information may be collected by sensors,under the direction of the electronic control system, and passed backover the wired connection for displayed upon the main helm station.Control input entered by the operator on the main helm station may bepassed over the wired connection to the electronic control system, whichissues control signals to the marine subsystems to control motion, andpotentially other functions, of the vessel.

In a typical arrangement, the main helm station is centrally located,often on the main level of the vessel. While visibility from such alocation may be adequate in most situations, in some situations it maybe insufficient. For example, if the vessel is maneuvering in port tomoor or dock, an operator at the main helm station may not have adequateline of sight to judge the position of the vessel with respect to theedge of the dock or mooring.

Traditionally, a crew member is stationed on the deck of the vessel at aposition that provides better visibility, for example, by the rail. Thecrew member is tasked with verbally relaying information to the operatorat the main helm station. For example, as the vessel approaches the dockor mooring, the crew member may relay back relevant distances andsuggest course corrections. However, this relay of information isproblematic. The crew member may misspeak, or the operator may mishear acrucial piece of information. Further, the crew member may lack theexperience of the operator, and this lack of experience may cause themto misestimate distances or suggest incorrect course corrections. Stillfurther, there is an inherent delay to this sort of relay ofinformation, and this delay may be problematic in some situations.

In attempts to address these issues, some vessels employ stationarysecondary helm stations coupled to the electronic control system viawired connections. These stationary secondary helm stations may belocated at positions on the deck of the vessel where better visibilityis available. An operator may temporarily take control of vessel fromone of these stationary secondary helm stations. However, while thisapproach may be somewhat of an improvement over verbally relayinginformation back, it still suffers from several shortcomings. While agiven stationary secondary helm station may be located at a betterposition than the main helm station for performing one type of maneuver,it may be in a poorer location when another type of maneuver isrequired. Accordingly, to be effective, there typically needs to beseveral secondary helm stations dispersed about the vessel, to providecoverage for common maneuvers. The need for duplicative secondary helmstations, and the wiring required to support each secondary helmstation, adds expense to the vessel. Further, duplicative secondary helmstations consume space that could be better utilized for other purposes.

In further attempts to address these issues, some vessels employdedicated wireless remote controllers that include physical buttons orswitches for controlling the vessel. A dedicated wireless remotecontroller may include a transmitter configured to transmit upon one ormore predefined radio frequency bands. However, while this approach mayalso be somewhat of an improvement over verbally relaying information,it too suffers from several shortcomings. Dedicated wireless remotecontrollers may be inconvenient. An operator may desire remote controlonly few times in a given voyage, for example, when entering or leavingport. During the potentially long stretches of time between their use,dedicated wireless remote controller may be set aside, to be forgottenabout or lost. An operator generally has little reason to carry themabout on their person, due to their infrequent use. Accordingly, when anopportunity for their use does arise, they are typically not at hand,and an operator may need to search about the veseel to locate thededicated wireless remote controller, before it can even be used.Further, many dedicated wireless remote controllers lack sufficientsafeguards to ensure that input entered on the dedicated wireless remotecontroller is being received in a timely and accurate manner by theelectronic control system of the vessel. This may create a potential forcatastrophic failure, for example, where an operator believes thatcontrol input they have entered will be acted upon, only to find that itis not. Further, dedicated wireless remote controllers typically do notprovide sufficient environmental and system status information to permitmore advanced types of control.

Accordingly, there is a need for improved techniques for remote motioncontrol of a vehicle (e.g., a marine vessel), that may address some, orall, of these shortcomings.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a general-purpose wireless mobile device having atouch-sensitive screen and executing a remote control application isused to remotely control a vehicle (e.g., a marine vessel, such as ayacht). The general-purpose wireless mobile device communicates via awireless network with an interface (e.g., a server) that is coupled toan electronic control system of the vehicle (e.g., the vessel). Theelectronic control system is coupled to, and receives information from,sensors that collect environmental information (e.g., wind speed, winddirection, water depth, etc.) and/or system status information (e.g.,engine speed, transmission settings, etc.) for the vehicle (e.g., thevessel). The electronic control system is also coupled to, and providescontrol signals to, vehicle subsystems (e.g., marine subsystems, such asthrottle controllers, transmission controllers, rudder actuators, etc.)that implement motion and other function control. In operation,environmental information and/or system status information is collectedthrough the electronic control system, propagated to the interface(e.g., the server), and then sent over the wireless network to thewireless mobile device. Similarly, control input is sent over thewireless network to the interface (e.g., theserver), which passes theinformation to the electronic control system, which in turn issuesappropriate control signals to vehicle subsystems (e.g., marinesubsystems) to control the motion of the vehicle (e.g., the vessel).

In one embodiment, the remote control application includes a packetdelivery module, a network health monitor, and a user interface (UI)module. The packet delivery module is configured to exchanging packetswith the interface to receive environmental information and/or systemstatus information, and to pass thereto control input, when remotemotion and other function control is engaged. The packet delivery moduleis further configured to implement an acknowledgment (ACK)/negativeacknowledgment (NACK) mechanism, and to implement data collectionfunctions to obtain packet data. The packet delivery module networkhealth monitor is configured to use the packet data obtained by the tocalculate one or more performance metrics, determine therefrom a networkhealth score, and based on the network health score, permit or disableremote motion and other function control. The UI module is configured todisplay environmental information and/or system status information forthe vehicle (e.g., vessel) in a UI on the touch-sensitive screen, and toreceive control input indicating desired motion and other functioncontrol via the UI, when such remote control is permitted and engaged.An interface element of the UI indicates when remote motion and otherfunction control is engaged, and the wireless mobile device is hascontrol responsibility, and when remote motion and other functioncontrol is disabled, and control responsibility is returned to a maincontrol interface (e.g., a stationary main helm station) of the vehicle(e.g., the vessel).

It should be understood that a variety of other embodiments may beimplemented, including other embodiments discussed below, and variationsthereof. This Summary is intended simply as an introduction to thereader, and does not indicate or imply that the techniques mentionedherein are necessary, or essential, to the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The description below refers to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example architecture for remote motionand other function control;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example general-purpose wireless mobiledevice having a touch-sensitive screen;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example packet structured according to aJavaScript Object Notation (JSON) data-interchange format;

FIG. 4 is a screen shot of an example user interface (UI) that may beshown by a UI module on the touch-sensitive screen of the wirelessmobile device;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an example sequence of steps for remotemotion and other function control; and

FIG. 6 is an flow diagram of an example sequence of steps for exchangingpackets over a wireless network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the below examples, reference is made to an example marine vessel,example components of that vessel, and example information relevant tothat vessel. However, it should be understood that the techniques areequally applicable to other types of vehicles, having other components,and to which other information is relevant. Where marine specificcomponents and information is mentioned, it should be understood thatthe description is equally applicable to more general types ofcomponents and information, including those mentioned in the Summary.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example architecture 100 for remotemotion and other function control. At the heart of the architecture isan electronic control system 102 executing control software. Theelectronic control system 102 is coupled via a wired network 104, forexample, to one or more gateways 106, which are in turn coupled tosensors and marine subsystems. The sensors include environmental sensors110 that collect information regarding the physical environment aboutthe vessel, for example, a wind sensor 112 that determines a wind speedand wind direction, a depth finder 114 that determines a water depth, aglobal positioning system (GPS) 116 that determines a geographiclocation, as well as other environmental sensors 118. The sensorsfurther include system status sensors 120 that collect information aboutmarine subsystems, for example, an engine speed sensor 122 that measuresengine revolutions per minute (RPM), a transmission position sensor 124that determines clutch and/or other transmission settings, as well asother system status sensors 126. The marine subsystems 140 includemotion control subsystems, for example, an engine throttle controller142 that controls engine speed, a transmission controller 144 thatcontrols transmission settings, thruster controllers 146 that controlthrusters (e.g., bow and stern thrusters), a rudder control system 147that controls primary steering, a horn system 148 that provide auditoryalerts, and other subsystems 149.

A main helm station 150, through which an operator (e.g., the captain)of the vessel may monitor and control the motion and other functions ofthe vessel is coupled to the electronic control system 102 via the wirednetwork 104. Environmental and/or system status information from thesensors is processed by the electronic control system 102, and passedback over the wired network 104 for displayed upon the main helm station150. Control input entered by the operator on the main helm station 150is passed via the wired network 104 to the electronic control system102, which issues control signals to the marine subsystems 140.

An interface, such as a server 160, is coupled to the electronic controlsystem 102 via the wired network 104. The server 160 may also be coupledto a wireless access point 170 that supports a wireless network (e.g.,an IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN)) 180. In oneembodiment, the wireless network 180 may utilize a connectionlesstransport layer protocol (e.g., User Datagram Protocol (UDP)) thatprovides unreliable, unordered service. However, it should be understoodthat other transport layer protocols may alternatively be employed.

A general-purpose wireless mobile device 200 having a touch-sensitivescreen communicates with the server via the wireless network 180, byexchanging packets (e.g., UDP packets). As used herein, the term“general-purpose wireless mobile device” refers to an electronic devicehaving wireless communication capabilities that is adapted to betransported on one's person, and that includes a general-purposeoperating system capable of executing a variety of types of softwareapplications, including applications unrelated to vehicle motioncontrol. Devices such as tablet computers (e.g., the iPad® tabletavailable from Apple, Inc.), smartphones (e.g., the iPhone® multimediaphone available from Apple, Inc.), and certain portable media players(e.g., such as the iPod® touch portable media player available fromApple, Inc.) that execute general-purpose operating systems (e.g., theIOS® operating system available from Apple, Inc.) are consideredgeneral-purpose wireless mobile devices.

In operation, environmental and/or system status information iscollected through the electronic control system 102, propagated to theserver 160, and then sent over the wireless network 180 to the wirelessmobile device 200. Similarly, control input is sent over the wirelessnetwork 180 to the server 160, which passes the information to theelectronic control system 102, which in turn issues appropriate controlsignals over the wired network 104 to marine subsystems 140 to controlthe motion and other functions of the vessel.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example general-purpose wireless mobiledevice 200 having a touch-sensitive screen 210. The touch-sensitivescreen 210 is configured to visually display information and to receivedinput, including touches and gestures entered by an operator. Thewireless mobile device 200 further includes a wireless network interface220, a processor 230, a memory 240, and other components. The wirelessnetwork interface 220 includes transceiver circuitry for sending andreceiving packets over a wireless network (e.g., an IEEE 802.11 WLAN).The processor 230 includes logic configured to execute software andmanipulate data from data structures. The memory 230 includes aplurality of storage locations for storing the software and the datastructures.

At least some of the software and data structures stored in the memoryimplement a general-purpose operating system 250, that functionallyorganizes the wireless mobile device 200. The general-purpose operatingsystem 250 may be an IOS® operating system, or another type of operatingsystem, that is capable of executing a variety of types of softwareapplications, including applications unrelated to vehicle motioncontrol.

A further portion of the software and data structures stores a remotecontrol application 260 that is utilized to remotely control motion, andpotentially other functions, of the vessel. The remote controlapplication 260 includes a packet delivery module 270, a network healthmonitor 280, and a user interface (UI) module 290. The packet deliverymodule 270 is configured to exchange packets with the server 160 toreceive the environmental information and/or system status information,and to pass thereto control input, when remote motion and other functioncontrol is engaged. The packet delivery module 270 is further configuredto implement an acknowledgment (ACK)/negative acknowledgment (NACK)mechanism, and to implement data collection functions to obtain packetdata. The network health monitor 280 is configured to use the packetdata obtained by the packet delivery module 270 to calculate one or moreperformance metrics, determine therefrom a network health score, andbased on the network health score, permit or disable remote motion andother function control from the wireless mobile device 200. The UImodule 290 is configured to display environmental and/or system statusinformation for the vessel in a user interface (UI) on thetouch-sensitive screen 210, and to receive control input indicatingdesired motion and other function control via the UI, when remotecontrol is permitted. This control input is passed to the packetdelivery module 270 for transmission back to the server 160 over thewireless network 180, when remote control is permitted.

In one embodiment, the packet delivery module 270 utilizes features of adata-interchange format (e.g., a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)data-interchange format)to implement the ACK/ NACK mechanism, and toobtain at least some of the packet data. The data-interchange format maybe used to implement certain aspects of reliable ordered service, on topof an underlying connectionless transport protocol (e.g., UDP) used inthe wireless network 180, which may inherently provides only unreliable,unordered service.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example packet 300 structured accordingto a JSON data-interchange format. In this example, the packet 300 is aUDP packet. The packet 300 includes an Ethernet header 310 having sourceand destination media access control (MAC) addresses, an EtherTypeprotocol identifier, tags, and other information. An Internet Protocol(IP) header 320 includes source and destination IP addresses, a totalpacket length, a fragment identification, an offset, and otherinformation. Further, a UDP header 330 includes a source portidentifier, a destination port identifier, a length and otherinformation.

The data portion 340 of the packet 300 is arranged as a JSON dictionary,having a plurality of keys and associated values. A sequence number keyand associated value (e.g., an 8-byte integer value) 360 indicates thepacket's relative order in relation to other packets exchanged between asame sender (server 160) and receiver (wireless mobile device 200) pair.As noted above, such sequence information would typically not beavailable within a UDP packet. An interval key and associated value 370(e.g., an 8-byte integer value of milliseconds) indicates an asending-side time interval, between transmission of a previous packetfrom the sender (server 160) to the receiver (wireless mobile device200) and transmission of the current packet from the sender (server 160)to the receiver (wireless mobile device 200). A message key andassociated value (e.g., a variable length string of data) 380 provides amessage payload for passing information, control input, indications ofacknowledgment or negative acknowledgment, or other purposes, dependingon the packet's function. Further, a parameters key and associated value390 indicates the meaning of information in the message payload.

In one embodiment, the packet delivery module 270 may utilize a packetof such format to implement the ACK/NACK mechanism. In response toreceipt of a packet 300 from the sender (server 160), where the sequencenumber key and associated value 360 indicates a sequential sequencenumber (as compared to a previous packet), the packet delivery module270 returns a packet that operates as an ACK. In response to a packetfrom the server 160 that includes a non-sequential sequence number (ascompared to the previous packet), the packet delivery module 270 returnsone or more packets that operate as NACKs, sending them at regularintervals until a packet with the expected sequence number is received.Any other packets with different sequence numbers are queued by thepacket delivery module 270 while awaiting a packet with the expectedsequence number.

In addition to the ACK/NACK mechanism, the packet delivery module 270 isfurther responsible for reading and detecting certain packet data. Thepacket delivery module 270 reads the sending-side time interval from theinterval key and associated value 370 of each received packet. Further,the packet delivery module 270 detects, working in conjunction withhardware features of the wireless network interface 220, areceiving-side time interval between reception of a previous packet fromthe sender (server 160) at the receiver (wireless mobile device 200) andreception of the current packet from the sender (server 160) at thereceiver (wireless mobile device 200). Further, the packet deliverymodule 270 tracks a number of times, if any, either the sender (server160) or receiver (wireless mobile device 200) may request a packet to beretransmitted (e.g., due to data corruption).

In one embodiment, the network health monitor 280 is configured to usethe packet data to calculate one or more performance metrics, determinetherefrom a network health score, and based on the network health score,permit or disable remote motion and other function control from thewireless mobile device 200. In one implementation, the network healthmonitor 280 utilizes a sliding window to select packets whose packetdata is used to calculate at least some of the one or more performancemetrics. The sliding window may prevent the packet data from becomingstale, making it less likely that extremely good performance during onetime period will be able to mask extremely bad performance duringanother time period. The sliding window is defined by two parameters: apredetermined length, indicating a period of time a packet may bemaintained in the sliding window; and a predetermined size, indicating amaximum number of packets that can be maintained in the sliding windowat any given time. The predetermined length and predetermined size maybe selected based on the particular type and configuration of wirelessnetwork 180.

The one or more performance metrics calculated by the network healthmonitor 280 include an instantaneous jitter metric, a cumulative delaymetric, an average jitter metric, a retransmission metric, and/or othermetrics descriptive of network performance. The instantaneous jittermetric measures unexpected packet delay variation for a particularpacket, and is based on a comparison of a) a difference between thesending-side time interval and the receiving-side time interval for theparticular packet, and b) a predetermined threshold. The cumulativedelay measures implications of unexpected packet delay variation overtime, and is based on a comparison of a) a sum of instantaneous jittervalues of packets that fall within the sliding window, and b) apredetermined threshold. The average jitter metric also measuresimplications of unexpected packet delay variation over time, and isbased on an average of instantaneous jitter. This average is comparedwith a predetermined threshold, and weighted for deviation from thethreshold. Further, the retransmission metric measures retransmissionfrequency, and is based on a number of times either the sender (server160) or receiver (wireless mobile device 200) has requested packets thatfall within the sliding window to be retransmitted. It should beunderstood that a wide variety of other performance metrics mayalternatively be employed, and that the above performance metrics may becalculated in alternative manners.

The network health monitor 280 combines the one or more performancemetrics (e.g., using a weighted average function) to produce a networkhealth score that is descriptive of the reliability of the wirelessnetwork 180. The network health monitor 280 then compares the networkhealth score to a health threshold to determine if the wireless network180 offers sufficient reliability to permit remote motion and otherfunction control. If the network health score meets the threshold, thewireless network 180 is determined to be sufficiently reliable, andremote motion and other function control is permitted. If the networkhealth score does not meet the threshold, the wireless network 180 isdetermined to be insufficiently reliable, and remote motion and otherfunction control is disabled, and control responsibility is returned tothe main helm station 150 of the vessel.

Control responsibility may be returned to the main helm station 150using an explicit or a passive mechanism. In an explicit mechanism, thenetwork health monitor 280 may send one or more packets including anindication that control should be returned. Alternatively, in a passivemechanism, information may be withheld. For example, control inputreceived in the UI is not propagated further, and the packet deliverymodule 270 is triggered to withhold ACKs to the server 150 for receivedpackets. The lack of ACKs will cause the server 160 to rapidly detect aproblem, and to return control to the stationary main helm station 150.

FIG. 4 is a screen shot of example UI 400 that may be shown by the UImodule 490 on the touch-sensitive screen 410 of the wireless mobiledevice 200. The UI 400 includes a plurality of interface elements fordisplaying environmental information, including a wind speed readout405, a wind direction readout 410 and a water depth readout 415. The UI400 further includes a plurality of interface elements for displayingsystem status information, including first and second engine speedreadouts 420, 425. Additional interface elements are provided forreceiving control input (e.g., in the form of touches or gestures)representing desired changed in motion or other functions. Theadditional interface elements include a main engine control slider 430,first and second emergency stop buttons 435, 440, a rudder controlslider 445, bow thruster controls 450, 455, transmission control buttons460, 465, and a horn control button 470. At least some of the interfaceelements include sub elements that provide additional information, orare used to receive additional input. For example, the main enginecontrol slider 430 includes an indicator light 432 that indicates whenthe main engines are active, the first and second emergency stop buttons435, 440 include indicator lights 437, 442 that indicate an emergencystop is in progress, the rudder control slider 445 includes an indicatorlight 447 that indicates when the rudder is being actively steered, etc.

The UI 400 includes an interface element, for example, a takeover button475, for requesting that remote motion and other function control, beengaged. Remote motion and other function control may only be actuallyengaged in response to the interface element when it is permitted by thenetwork health monitor 280, as discussed above. A further interfaceelement, for example a takeover indicator light 477, indicates whenremote motion and other function control is engaged, and the wirelessmobile device 200 is has control responsibility, and when remote controlis disabled, and control responsibility is returned to the stationarymain helm station of the vessel. Still further, the UI 400 includes aninterface element, for example, a lock button 480, for disabling the UIto prevent inadvertent takeover of control responsibility, as well as anindicator, for example, a lock light 482, that indicates when the restof the UI is disabled. It should be understood that a variety of otherinterface elements may alternatively be employed, and that the abovediscussed interface elements may be adapted for use in differentimplementations.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an example sequence of steps 500 for remotemotion and other function control. At step 510, the packet deliverymodule 270 of the wireless mobile device 200 exchanges packets over thewireless network 180 with the server 160, which is coupled via the wirednetwork 104 with the electronic control system 102 of the vessel. Atstep 520, the network health monitor uses packet data, obtained from thepackets exchanged with the server 160, to calculate one or moreperformance metrics, and determines a network health score from acombination of the one or more performance metrics. At step 530, basedon the network health score, the network health monitor permits ordisables remote motion and other function control from the wirelessmobile device 200. Execution then loops back to step 510.

Concurrent to steps 510-530, at step 540, the UI module 290 displaysenvironmental information and/or system status information for thevessel on the touch-sensitive screen 210 of the wireless mobile device200. At step 550, the UI module receives control input on thetouch-sensitive screen 210 indicating desired motion or other functioncontrol. At step 560, when remote motion and other function control ispermitted, the packet delivery module 270 passes the control input overthe wireless network 180 to the server 160, to cause the electroniccontrol system 102 to issues control signals to subsystems to controlmotion and other functions of the vessel. A step 570, when remote motionand other function control is disabled, control responsibility isreturned to the a main helm station 150 of the vessel.

FIG. 6 is an flow diagram of an example sequence of steps 600 forexchanging packets over the wireless network 180. At least some of thesteps 600 may be executed as part of step 510 of FIG. 5, when remotemotion and other function control is permitted. At step 610, the packetdelivery module 270 of the wireless mobile device 200 waits for a packeton the wireless network 180. Upon receipt of a packet, execution proceedto step 620, where the packet delivery module 270 determines if thepacket has a sequential sequence number (as compared to a previouspacket). If so, execution proceeds to step 630, where the packetdelivery module 270 returns one or more packets that operate as ACKs,and the received packet and any packets in a packet queue are processed.If not, execution proceeds to step 640, where the received packet isadded to a packet queue, to wait to be processed. Execution thenproceeds to step 650, where it is determined if a NACK timer has alreadybeen started. The NACK timer operates to trigger the transmission ofNACKs, at regular intervals, until a packet with the expected sequentialsequence number is received. If the NACK timer is already started,execution loops back to step 610, where the packet delivery module 270waits for another packet. If the NACK timer is not already start,execution proceeds to step 660, where the NACK timer is started, andthen execution loops back to step 610.

It should be understood that various adaptations and modifications maybe made within the spirit and scope of the embodiments discussed herein.It should be understood that at least some portions of theabove-described techniques may be implemented in software, in hardware,or a combination thereof. A software implementation may includecomputer-executable instructions stored in a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, such as a volatile or persistent memory, ahard-disk, a compact disk (CD), or other tangible medium. A hardwareimplementation may include configured processors, logic circuits,application specific integrated circuits, and/or other types of hardwarecomponents. Further, a combined software/hardware implementation mayinclude both computer-executable instructions stored in a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, as well as one or more hardware components,for example, processors, memories, etc. Accordingly, it should beunderstood that the above descriptions are meant to be taken only by wayof example.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: an interface coupled to anelectronic control system of a vehicle; and a general-purpose wirelessmobile device having a touch-sensitive screen in communication with theinterface via a wireless network, the general-purpose wireless mobiledevice configured to execute a remote control application that includes:a packet delivery module configured to exchange packets with theinterface over the wireless network, a network health monitor configuredto use packet data to determine a network health score, and based on thenetwork health score, permit or disable remote motion control of thevehicle via the general-purpose wireless mobile device, and a userinterface (UI) configured to display environmental information and/orsystem status information for the vehicle on the touch-sensitive screenof the general-purpose wireless mobile, and to receive on thetouch-sensitive screen control input indicating desired motion controlfor the vehicle, wherein, when remote motion control is permitted, thecontrol input is passed to the interface to cause the electronic controlsystem to issues control signals to subsystems to control motion of thevehicle.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein, when remote control via thegeneral-purpose wireless mobile device is disabled, motion controlresponsibility is returned to a main control interface of the vehicle.3. The system of claim 1, wherein the UI module is configured to displayan interface element in the UI that indicates when remote motion controlis permitted and engaged, and when remote motion control is disabled. 4.The system of claim 1, wherein the packet delivery module is furtherconfigured to obtain the packet data from the packets exchanged with theinterface over the wireless network.
 5. The system of claim 4, whereinthe packet delivery module is further configured to implement anacknowledgment (ACK)/negative acknowledgment (NACK) mechanism for thepackets exchanged with the interface over the wireless network.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the network health monitor is furtherconfigured to calculate one or more performance metrics from the packetdata, and to determine the network health score from a combination ofthe one or more performance metrics.
 7. The system of claim 1, whereinthe electronic control system is coupled via a wired network to sensorsthat collect the environmental information and/or system statusinformation for the vehicle.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein theelectronic control system is coupled via a wired network to thesubsystems of the vehicle that control motion of the vehicle.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is a marine vessel.
 10. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the general-purpose wireless mobile device isa tablet computer.
 11. A method comprising: exchanging packets over awireless network between a general-purpose wireless mobile device and aninterface coupled to an electronic control system of a vehicle; usingpacket data to determine a network health score for the wirelessnetwork; based on the network health score, permitting or disablingremote motion control of the vehicle via the general-purpose wirelessmobile device; displaying environmental information and/or system statusinformation for the vehicle on a touch-sensitive screen of thegeneral-purpose wireless mobile device; receiving, on thetouch-sensitive screen of the general-purpose wireless mobile device,control input indicating desired motion control for the vehicle; andwhen remote motion control via the general-purpose wireless mobiledevice is permitted, passing the control input over the wireless networkto the interface to cause the electronic control system to issuescontrol signals to subsystems to control motion of the vehicle.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising: when remote motion control viathe general-purpose wireless mobile device is disabled, returning motioncontrol responsibility to a main control interface of the vehicle. 13.The method of claim 11, wherein further comprising: display an interfaceelement in the UI that indicates when remote motion control is permittedand engaged, and when remote motion control is disabled.
 14. The methodof claim 11, further comprising: obtaining the packet data from thepackets exchanged with the interface over the wireless network.
 15. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising: implementing an acknowledgment(ACK)/negative acknowledgment (NACK) mechanism for the packets exchangedwith the interface over the wireless network.
 16. The method of claim11, further comprising: calculate one or more performance metrics fromthe packet data; and determining the network health score from acombination of the one or more performance metrics.
 17. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the vehicle is a marine vessel.
 18. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the general-purpose wireless mobile device is a tabletcomputer.
 19. A non-transitory computer readable medium having softwareencoded thereon, the software when executed by a processor of ageneral-purpose wireless mobile device operable to: exchange packetsover a wireless network between the general-purpose wireless mobiledevice and an interface coupled to an electronic control system of avehicle; use packet data to determine a network health score for thewireless network; based on the network health score, permit or disableremote motion control of the vehicle via the general-purpose wirelessmobile device; display environmental information and/or system statusinformation for the vehicle on a touch-sensitive screen of thegeneral-purpose wireless mobile device; receive, on the touch-sensitivescreen of the general-purpose wireless mobile device, control inputindicating desired motion control for the vehicle; and when remotemotion control is permitted via the general-purpose wireless mobiledevice, pass the control input over the wireless network to theinterface to cause the is electronic control system to issues controlsignals to subsystems to control motion of the vehicle.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein thesoftware, when executed is further operable to: when remote control viathe general-purpose wireless mobile device is disabled, return motioncontrol responsibility to a main control interface of the vehicle.